tampovstomoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“tampo” and “tomo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#45,618
“tampo” frequency rank
#6,352
“tomo” frequency rank
51970
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tampo tomo
Definition o mesmo que tampa; objeto que serve para tampar, vedar, tapar, etc volume de obra impressa ou manuscrita

Where the eye mixes tampo and tomo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. tampo runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against tomo's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
tampo
4 ch
tomo

Look-alike desk: tampo vs tomo

A purely visual mix-up. tampo (/ˈtɐ̃.pu/) and tomo (/ˈto.mu/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51970, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tampo is recorded at frequency rank #45,618, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɐ̃.pu/. tomo is at rank #6,352, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈto.mu/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 51970, this pair ranks #13,147 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tampo vs tomo

Shared letters: mot. Private to "tampo": ap. Private to "tomo": -.

"tampo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "tomo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tampo ← atmpo · tammpo · tamop · tamppo · tapmo · tmapo · ttampo
  • tomo ← otmo · tmoo · tommo · toom · ttomo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tampo" and "tomo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ˈtɐ̃.pu/ versus /ˈto.mu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "tampo" or "tomo" show up more?
"tomo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,352 in our Portuguese list, against #45,618 for "tampo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tampo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tomo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #13,147 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tampo" and "tomo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tampo vs trampa". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #13,147 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list